Is Fast or Slow Weight Loss Best to Avoid Regain?

The chance of weight regain after dieting is the same whether the weight was dropped quickly or slowly, a study found. A total of 204 overweight or obese adults followed either a 12-week “rapid” diet consuming only specially designed, nutritionally balanced, low-calorie drinks or a “slower” 36-week diet that included the drinks for some meals and solid food for others. Participants who lost at least 12.5 percent of their weight—nearly all of the rapid dieters versus just half of the slower diet group—were prescribed a maintenance diet. After three years, three quarters of both groups had gained the weight back during the maintenance phase. What’s needed is a way to suppress hunger after weight loss, the researchers say. Source:The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, published online Oct. 16, 2014